White-tailed Ptarmigan - BirdForum Opus

Male, subspecies bowerbird
Photo by bowerbird
Rocky Mountains, Colorado, June 2004

Lagopus leucura

Identification

Winter plumaged bird
Photo by Dave B Smith
Bow Lake, Alberta, Canada, July 2007

30-34cm (11¾-13 in)
Winter

• Pure white except for a black beak and eyes
  

Summer

• Mottled and barred brown head, breast, and back
• White wings, belly, and tail

Distribution

Western United States, Canada and Alaska.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Female, subspecies peninsularis
Photo by alaskabirder
Hatcher Pass, Palmer, Alaska, July 2015

Five subspecies are recognized:^[1]

• L.l. peninsularis:

• South-central Alaska

• L.l. leucura:

• Northern Yukon, western British Columbia and western Alberta to northern border of US

• L.l. saxatilis:

• Vancouver Island

• L.l. rainierensis:

• Cascade mountains of Washington

• L.l. altipetens:

• Rocky Mountains of US.

Habitat

Open country in high mountains.

Behaviour

Chick
Photo by alaskabirder
Hatcher Pass, Palmer, Alaska, July 2015

Diet

Their main winter diet includes alder catkins.

Breeding

The clutch consists of 4-8 buff, faintly spotted eggs which are laid in a hollow on the ground. It is lined with grass, leaves, and feathers. Males remain with the females until the eggs are hatched after an incubation period of 23 days.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Feb 2018)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) White-tailed Ptarmigan. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-tailed_Ptarmigan

External Links

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